It is widely known that there are millions of dog owners in this country as well as other countries throughout the world. Dogs comprise one of the most popular types of animals for household pets. Of course, dogs are extremely popular animals for other than simple companionship. Other uses of dogs include working dogs and show dogs. In turn, working dogs may be classified as dogs utilized for police enforcement purposes, military activities, dogs trained for hunting and also dogs specifically trained to aid those individuals who are visually impaired.
Regardless of the above classifications, the care and maintenance of dogs require the use of numerous auxiliary or supplementary items. Among the most popular is the dog leash or tethering apparatus wherein dogs are retained and/or restricted for purposes of control when not contained by fences in a yard or like area. Since, all dogs must go to the bathroom and often are walked in public areas where the owner is required by law to clean up after his or her dog, many different devices are available on the market to pick up after a dog but often these devices are bulky and cumbersome to carry. That is why the majority of dog owners often carry a plastic bag that when inserted inside out can be used to pick up the dog waste made by the dog and contain it in the bag until the bag can be disposed of in a proper receptacle. However, one problem that exists with this system is where to store the bag containing the dog waste while walking the dog. One certainly does not want to put it in their pocket until a receptacle is reached.
Accordingly, most often the person walking the dog carry the bag containing the dog waste in his or her hands. However, as the dog moves from side to side, that person must compensate for the movement by switching the leash from one hand to the other hand. This means that the bag containing the waste must also be shifted from one hand to the other making it cumbersome, messy and facilitating the transfer of germs from one hand to the other. Not to mention, requiring that both hands of the person walking the dog be fully occupied, one with the leash and one with the bag. This makes it difficult to carry anything else, press crosswalk buttons, open doors and/or fences, and even prevent injury should the person walking the dog trips and fall. The problem of having both hands full while walking the dog has been addressed by leash and retaining harness assemblies and devices such as harnesses. Harnesses have been proposed to address this problem, but seem to be even more constraining than having both hands full.
Accordingly, there is a recognized need in this area for a leash or tethering assembly device that can easily attach and detach a bag for carrying dog waste. The device used to hold the dog waste must be designed to remain untangled as the leash is switched from hand to hand as the dog moves from side to side. In other words, a device attached to a leash that allows a bag to be attached to the device and the bag remains attached without becoming a tangled mess. This allows the walker to have at least one hand free at all times. Such a preferred leash assembly should be structured so that the waste bag can be quickly attached and detached using one hand.
The present invention is directed to a dog leash attachment assembly designed to carry items, such as a bag containing dog waste, without getting tangled as the dog moves from side to side. The dog leash attachment assembly contains a bag attachment means that is able to swivel about the device in such a manner so as to allow the bag containing the waste to remain in an untangled position as the dog moves from side to side and the person holding the leash switches the leash from hand to hand. The present device makes walking a dog more enjoyable and prevents possible injuries that can occur to the hands and/or arm muscles of the person walking the dog as the leash and bag is switched from hand to hand as the dog pulls in the forward direction. Accordingly, the present invention fulfils this need and overcomes the shortcomings of the problems discussed above as well as others.